WIAD

94.7 The Globe/Classic Rock 94.7

On February 2, 2007, an adult album alternative (also known as "triple A") music format was adopted with the branding "The Globe". ^{[9] [10]} The new "Globe" format also featured "green" segments between songs or before and after commercials with environmental information. These segments were called "The Green Scene". The station's call sign changed to WTGB on February 15. The airstaff remained the same as WARW's, but some spots were flipped. Weasel moved from nights to mornings, displacing the Stevens & Medley morning team. Mark Stevens, who was part of Stevens & Medley, moved to nights and was eventually replaced by Albie Dee, who would later move to mornings, replacing Weasel, in November 2008, two months after WTGB flipped back to their prior classic rock format. Jerry Hoyt would then take over evenings. The February 2007 shift to AAA left rival classic hits station WBIG-FM as the capital's only analog station broadcasting some form of classic rock. The Globe's HD2 subchannel, then known as "The Jam", began broadcasting a mixture of classic rock.

The call sign appeared similar to Georgetown University's radio station, WGTB. Long time Washington radio listeners remember that station from the 1970s as a champion of the alternative rock of its time. WTGB's former DJs, Don "Cerphe" Colwell and Jonathan "Weasel" Gilbert (he left the station in October 2008), have each been involved with Washington radio for nearly 40 years, including stints for both at WHFS. When the station flipped formats, Cerphe left the air in April 2009. ^[11]

On August 10, 2008, WTGB dropped the triple A format and began returning to a classic rock format. ^[12] Three weeks after the change, music director and midday personality Schelby Sweeney quit the station, and was replaced by Marci Wiser, formerly of New York City sister station WXRK. ^[13] The "Globe" name (but not the "World Class Rock" slogan) stayed, and WTGB-HD2 flipped to a AAA format. The format change was likely because of low ratings; the station stayed in the bottom seven for its entire life as a AAA outlet. ^{[14] [15]} On September 1, 2008, WTGB began using the branding 'Classic Rock 94.7 The Globe' on air. On February 14, 2009, however, the station's name would change to simply 'Classic Rock 94.7', like it was for some time while the station was still WARW. ^[16] A new logo and website followed on March 9, 2009.

94.7 Fresh FM

CBS Radio announced on March 30, 2009, that 94.7 FM would be switching to an adult contemporary format at noon on April 6, 2009, as "94.7 Fresh FM". ^{[17] [18] [19]} It was said to have the same branding as sister stations WWFS in New York and WCFS-FM in Chicago. CBS aimed to have the new station compete with Clear Channel's Adult Contemporary WASH-FM, as well as Citadel's Hot Adult Contemporary WRQX (which has since been sold to Cumulus Media and shifted to Top 40, but would shift back to Hot AC in November 2015, and became a member station of K-Love in May 2019).^{[ citation needed ]} The rivalry with WASH-FM was hinted at in various promotion spots using the tagline "None of that WASHed up old stuff, just Fresh new music." The last song on Classic Rock 94.7 was "Last Goodbye" by Jeff Buckley, and the first song on "Fresh" was "Get the Party Started" by P!nk.

On December 16, 2009, WTGB became WIAD, becoming the only Fresh FM station not using "FS" in its call sign. KEZK-FM in St. Louis, Missouri, followed suit the following year.

In September 2010, Zapoleon Media Strategies consultant Steve Davis was hired as Program Director. Davis eliminated the voice tracking of talent from outside the market and brought in a staff of live talent that included Tommy McFly from competitor WRQX. The original live lineup included Davis in mornings, market veteran Kristie McIntyre in midday and McFly in afternoons. This lineup remained in place for six months until McFly moved to mornings to create "The Tommy Show" with noted DC blogger Kelly Collis and former WMAL morning producer Jen Richer. Darik Kristofer from WSTR in Atlanta was brought in to replace McFly in afternoons and Taylor Shay came on board from WIHT to do nights, and was switched to the weekday midday shift (she has since left the station).

Musically, the station evolved into Hot AC and was, at one time, considered one of the best in the country in the format.^{[ citation needed ]} Ratings significantly improved with "Fresh" having the highest ratings in the frequency's history. WIAD quickly became consistently within the Top 5 in the station's target demos.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom. ^[20] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and the merger was consummated on November 17. ^{[21] [22]}

94.7 The Drive

On October 2, 2018, Entercom released the station's entire airstaff except for afternoon drive host Darik Kristofer. ^{[23] [24]} The following day, Entercom announced via a webinar that the station would flip to classic hits as "94.7 The Drive, DC's Greatest Hits". ^[25] The change took place at 5 p.m. that day. The format focuses on rock, pop, and R&B hits from the 1980s, while also extending into the 1970s and 1990s. The last song on Fresh FM was "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve, and the first song on "The Drive" was "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince. ^[26] In a press release, Entercom said that the Washington metropolitan area was the only major market without a classic hits radio station, and Entercom wanted to capitalize on that opportunity. ^[27]